What size tank for a 1 1/2 inch goldfish??

Question

He is a goldfish from walmart and I have been reading the questions on this site and so many ppl are saying 10 gal. per one fish. I realize goldfish get really big but am kind of in a pinch for money at the moment. I dont want to limit his space but obviously a 55 gallon tank would be overkill at this point and a one gallon bowl is not ok. So my question is just how big do I need? I need to save money but i will NOT keep him in that tiny bowl. Plz help, someone answered 5 gallons and no bigger which would be way cheaper and it got me wondering. All answers appreciated. Thx

P.s For the benefit of swissprincess, my last walmart goldfish lived over 4 years, and they are known to live up to 12 and even 20 years. Its just a matter of whether you care for them well, walmart or otherwise ;)

Answer 1

10gallon tank with no hood - $10
gravel - $3
filter (whisper filters are good and cheap) - $10-$20
and decorations if you'd like.

there you go, for about $20 you can get your fish a decent home. this of course can't be a permanent home, but until you can afford to get the big tank this should do. however, from now on I suggest you do your research before you buy the fish. then you would have known that a goldfish is not a great choice if you don't have much money.

Answer 2

The formula for fish is with goldfish they say that they need 5 gallons of water per inch. With regular fish it's 1 gallon per inch. Technically, with the size of your fish you would need a 7 and a half gallons. A 5 or 10 gallon tank will work. I used to have 17 goldfish that were about 3 inches long each in a 29 gallon tank and they were fine. I just used a power head with an undergravel filter for cleanliness sake because I didn't want to constantly clean the tank. What you can do is do it in stages as finances get better and just keep a look out for good deals on tanks. You can always find used tanks in the paper or on craigslist for a good price.

Answer 3

A 10 gallon is good for the present, but as an adult, the minimum would be a 20 gallon. A 20 long would be better than a 20 tall, because it give more area for the water/air contact. This is where most of the oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place, and will give the goldfish more swimming area as well, even though both tanks contain the same volume and should be comparable in price.

Answer 4

If it is small and YOU KNOW you will upgrade later, then you could swing a five gallon for a little while if it had SUPER filtration -- little while being definitely less than a year. You can really get a 10 gallon for the same price, and one single fish would be good a year or two in that, as long as you did upgrade later. For $22 you can get a 10 gallon at Petsmart just by getting the $9 tank and the $13 filter for 5-15 gallons, and that should work for a while, and be very worth it since your fishy wont die right away. Good luck!

Answer 5

Well, Walmart has a basic 10 gallon kit for about 30. -which includes the tank, hood/light combo, filter(not the greatest but better then nothing), and I think gravel. It's about the same price you'll pay for one of those "fancy" 5 gallons that are good for nothing other then bettas really. What kind of goldfish is it? The commons and comets are generally the ones that grow huge(12-24 inches), the fancier varieties get big, but not as big. 10-15 gallons is the minimum for a goldie, obviously more is better. I think their 29 gallon kit is running around 50. or 60.00-not including the stand. For now, I'd at least shoot for that 10 gallon kit. Good luck!

Answer 6

Honestly, it depends on how much upkeep you want to do. Obviously, the smaller the tank, the more often you'll need to do water changes (ESPECIALLY for that first month or so). I had a fancy oranda who was about 1 1/2 inches too, and I had him in a 10 gallon tank. Even so, I had to change his water almost daily starting out because the tank wasn't "established" or "cycled" yet. If you don't know what I mean by "cycled", it's very important that you read about the nitrate cycle fish tanks go through etc. etc.

Goldfish are very hardy, but the fancy varieties aren't quite as tough, so it's important to regularly test the nitrite levels, and maybe even the ph levels. I know you said you're strapped for cash, so if nothing else, for the first month or so, I'd change at least 1/2 his water about every other day! At least. If you notice him getting any black spots on him, it's probably from nitrite burns! Which means his water needs changed more.

So anyhow.. the bigger the tank, the better, but it won't kill him to be in a 5 gallon tank for now. I'd definitely do your best to get a bigger tank later on for him though.

Hope that helped some!

Answer 7

A 10 gallon is the MINIMUM
Here is a site that explains goldfish care in depth
http://www.firsttankguide.net/goldfish.php

And also another site to read and not just for you but for the others as well
http://www.epinions.com/content_3185614980


It's actually cheaper if you get a whole tanksetup with everything included then getting everything seperate
And the 10 gallons are sometimes even cheaper then the 5 gallons



Hope that helps
Good luck



EB

Answer 8

Well the 10 Gallon will save you money they are like 10 bucks at walmart, and it will give him room to move and grow chances are a 5 gallon tank will actually cost you more than the ten as they are normally a special made item.

Answer 9

The answer to your question depends on how big you want your fish to grow. I have 2 goldfish and i keep them in a 3 gallon tank. they are each about 1 1/4 inch long. the guy at the pet store told me that fish should have 1 gallon per inch of fish, so if i were you i would choose a 2 gallon tank. however, your gold fishy will not grow much larger than it is now. If you place it in a larger tank, the fish will grow up to 5 inches. I hope my answer is useful, and it would be cool if you rated it as most helpful. take care of that fishy!!!

Answer 10

i wouldnt placed them mutually. my gold fish replaced into approximately 4 inches and we've been given a 2 inch and placed them mutually. my larger one ate the smaller one and then the larger one exploded.